Natalie Maver

Emma Rain
Madisyn Ramacciotti
Lindsey Pazdziorko
Qualitative Research

You are a researcher conducting a study with the purpose being to determine why adults
who begin a regular exercise program either persist or drop out of the program. As a
qualitative researcher, you will enter the regular group exercise program situation as a
participant-observer. Discuss the following questions in your base group and decide how
you will handle each question.

1. How will you explain your entrance into this group so that you will not disrupt the
program yet be accepted so you can observe and interview participants
(participant observation)?

We could say that we were there to observe and evaluate the instructor so they do
not feel like they are the ones being watched, thus eliminating the hawthorne
effect. Also, as the instructor’s observer we could walk around the classroom to
receive feedback on the instructor but at the same time get to know each
participant. You can get to know them the same way an instructor would despite
not being the program's instructor.

2. Because you expect some participants to drop out, how will you manage to
interview them after they drop out?

We could interview them by prompting a conversation regarding how the

instructor did, if they enjoyed the class, and then add any questions needed for the
research. We could also try to ask people in the class who may know the
individual to contact them if they dropped out of the program without any notice.

3. What other participant characteristics might be of interest besides whether they

drop out or not?

Things to take into consideration that may influence a person to drop out are
things such as a busy schedule, a lower socioeconomic status, lack of motivation,
low fitness level, uneducated about proper workout techniques, and lack of
confidence. Someone who does not see results may also drop out. We would also
be interested in characteristics such as body shape, fitness level, workout attire,
hydration methods, and form.

4. Discuss some of the characteristics of persistence that might be of interest to

record. List these, and explain how you might obtain and record this information.

The characteristics we would expect to see for persistence would be a healthier,

more conditioned individual. We would also expect those with a high-middle class
or higher socioeconomic status to persist along with those who may have less
 work hours. The goals will determine persistence as well so someone who may
want to lose weight and will see results sooner will stay in it longer than those
who want to gain strength and might not see immediate results. We can obtain this
information by talking to the clients as their friend and finding out about their
lives.

5. Discuss how your biography might influence your role as a participant-observer.

How will you work to manage this bias?

We are all student-athletes so we all would be more invested in a program like

this, which has the potential to lead to bias, such as judging a person based on
their appearance (if they wear sport attire or their physical appearance like fitness
level). To avoid this bias we would have to keep an open mind that fitness comes
in all shapes and sizes and potentially observe in many different types of classes to
get an idea of this.

6. Switching gears: In addition to recording information that you can observe, you
want to interview individuals. What types of questions might you ask in the
interviews? How often would participants need to be interviewed?

We would ask questions regarding their life, such as their hobbies, work, and
more. Additionally, we would also ask them about their goals and what they
expect out of the program to get an idea of their motivation to participate. We
would have casual conversations with participants weekly to get a general idea on
how they feel about the program, but participants would need to be interviewed
every 3-4 weeks to record any major changes in their schedule, motivation, and
more.

7. How might an interview affect their responses? What might you do to control
behavior change?

An interview may affect their responses because it may make them more aware of
the fact that they are the ones being observed, rather than their impression that we
are evaluating the instructor. We can control this behavior change by
incorporating casual conversations to ask participants questions about themselves
and the program. We would also include questions about the instructor in their
interview to give the impression that the interview is still about the instructor's
evaluation.
Aside from the interview making them more aware of them being observed, they
may be dishonest about their answers or insecure about their responses. We could
control this by creating a safe and comfortable environment for them so they
respond honestly.